Dispensing systems are well known in many environments for many purposes. In certain instances it is very desirable to have very precise aliquots of fluid dispensed accurately and efficiently upon demand. The individual aliquots may range from very minute volumes to quite large volumes. Naturally there are many difficulties encountered when transferring fluid. For example, it is important that an exact amount or volume of fluid for an aliquot is introduced to the system from the supply source, that no fluid is lost from the aliquot during transportation through the system, and that the precise amount is dispensed from the dispensing orifice as that introduced from the fluid source. In handling fluid there are many well known problems that could result in loss of fluid during transfer or in an inaccurate dispensing function whee too much fluid is dispensed.
One particular environment that relies on the precise dispensing of aliquots of fluid is the medical field. This is particularly true where reagents are to be dispensed in precise amounts for clinical testing. With modern day equipment where high speed, high automated systems are employed to test a multiplicity of samples in rapid and repeated fashion, it is imperative that a quick acting pump be provided for precisely transferring aliquots of reagent in either large or small amounts quickly and efficiently into the highly automated system. It should be kept in mind that even in the case of individual tests, independent of highly automated clinical testing systems, it is important that very accurate and precise amounts of fluid such as reagent are dispened for accurate testing results.
Other environments can be readily envisioned where precise amounts of fluid must be handled and dispensed, particularly in the chemical testing area. It is readily apparent that there are many applications where very precise fluid dispensing structures are desirable and advantageous.